Welcome to the world of Jenniffer Wardell, author of “Beast Charming," "Fairy Godmothers, Inc," "Fighting Sleep" and more. It's a place where fantasy runs smack into reality (after which they both exchange business cards and hope no one calls the insurance company). Perfect for fans of Terry Pratchett and Mercedes Lackey's "500 Kingdoms" series.

Pages

Thursday, February 7, 2013

Supervillain Don'ts: Sharing the Evil Plot

Supervillain Don’ts: Sharing the Evil Plot

We’ve all been there. You have the hero at your mercy,
either tied up in some complicated wheel of death or simply bleeding on the
ground in front of you. The plan you’ve been slaving over has worked
flawlessly, as you knew it would, and you’re only seconds away from crushing
the last vestiges of life out of your victim. You NEED the fool to know just
how badly you’ve crushed him, to torture him in his final moments by draining
him of his last vestiges of hope. Surely it will just make him suffer more if
you tell him your wonderful plan, right?

In short, no. Because
the hero is still alive, even if it’s just barely, and you’ve now told him
exactly what he needs to do to keep your marvelously evil plan from coming to
fruition.

The moment you give the hero this information, something
that will inevitably happen that will force you to leave the room for a moment.
The universe, and the writers, will demand this, no matter how many times you
swear you’d never be one of those idiots who walk away just as the hero is
dying. Perhaps your secret fortress will be invaded, or collapse into a flaming
heap around you. Perhaps one of your minions will choose this unfortunate
moment to be ambitious. Either way, you will leave the room. And the hero will
escape, now fully aware of everything you’re about to do.

If you don’t tell the hero, you still might not be able to
keep them from escaping. But they’ll have no way to stop your plan (another
supervillain don’t: leaving the door to your plotting room unlocked) and you
can proceed with your villainy unchecked. It might be fun to boast to the hero
when they’re at your mercy, but it’s even more fun when they’re staring at your
glorious success. Once the plan is fully completed, you’ll have plenty of
leisure time to share your villainous monologue with anyone you’d like.

If you do indeed manage to kill them, your chance to torment
them with your plan will have admittedly passed. Your fellow supervillains will
still be around, however, and watching them turn green with envy at your evil
victory can be remarkably entertaining.